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Why I Garden: To Help the Environment

Taking care of the environment is our responsibility as humans. We have to nurture it, keep it clean, and protect it because our lives depend on it staying healthy. One simple way that all people can do this is by growing plants.

Read on to find out more about how having a garden helps the environment.

Less Soil Erosion

When an area doesn't have plants, the topsoil is easily pulled away by winds and water run-off. This is problematic because it takes many years for topsoil to develop enough nutrition to sustain plant life. On top of this, it is usually only a few inches deep at most. So anyone who wants to try to develop the area has to end up bringing in topsoil from somewhere else. Trees, bushes, and other plants with deep roots help hold the earth in place to prevent this from happening though. When there is enough of them, they create an underground web that doesn't allow it to break free. For this reason, some cities intentionally allow the plants to overgrow around areas that are prone to soil erosion.

Extra Oxygen

Environmentalists are always talking about global warming, but few people really understand what that means. The temperature of the earth is rising, which is causing icy regions to melt. And one of the reasons that this is happening is the abundance of carbon dioxide that is in the air. Rapid deforestation has torn away precious plants that convert carbon dioxide into the oxygen that we need to breathe. So one way to reverse this problem is to replace the plants. Of course, few people are able to grow an entire forest all by themselves, but they can do their part by having a backyard garden. If enough people did this all over the world, they could help reverse this problem.

Pollution Control

Pollution exists both inside and outside the home. Sometimes, it even seeps deep into the ground where it contaminates the rivers and streams. It is problematic because it makes so many animals and people sick. Luckily, there are many plants that have the special ability to clean up the pollution. Some plants work best for removing air toxins, such as English ivy. Others, like sunflowers, are able to pull it up from the soil. In fact, sunflowers are considered to be one of the most beneficial plants of the earth because they can even remove radioactive waste that has spilled over a large area of land. Although the waste kills off most other forms of life, these cheerful flowers seem to thrive on it. But they aren't the only plants that can help. Poplar trees and mustard plants are great for this too.